1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to animal litters and particularly to low-dust animal litters and methods for making such low-dust animal litters.
2. Description of Related Art
Animal litters are made from various ingredients, e.g., clays such as bentonite; woods such as pine and cedar; wood byproducts such as sawdust; grains and ground grains such as corn; agricultural products and byproducts such as corncob and dried distillers grains; silica gel; paper; cellulose; and mixtures thereof.
Generally, these animal litters are made by transporting, grinding, mixing, sizing, rolling, packaging, or otherwise processing the ingredients used to make the litter. As a result of this handling and processing, fine particles of the litter ingredients are often produced. These fine particles, generally referred to as “dust” in the art, cause various problems for the litter manufacturers and users. For example, the dust adversely affects the operation of litter production and handling equipment, causes environmental problems for production personnel, and must be disposed of in an environmentally acceptable manner. Similarly, the dust adversely affects the animal and the animal caregiver using the litter when the dust contaminates the environment where the litter is used, e.g., the dust is tracked into the environment by the animal.
Methods for reducing or eliminating dust from animal litters are known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,826,543 discloses clumpable animal litters containing polytetrafluoroethylene resin as a dust reducing agent. U.S. Pat. No. 5,469,809 discloses a non-dusting clumping animal litters. US20060201438A1 discloses clumping, non-dusting calcium carbonate-based animal litters. US20090126642A1 discloses litter boxes that minimize the generation of dust into the environment when the animal uses a litter. U.S. Pat. No. 6,854,421 discloses animal litters and methods of fabricating same that are dust free. U.S. Pat. No. 6,089,189 discloses scoopable cellulosic animal litters that are treated to reduce dust. U.S. Pat. No. 7,316,201 discloses non-clumping animal litter granules having reduced dust. U.S. Pat. No. 5,526,770 discloses biodegradable dust less cat litters. U.S. Pat. No. 5,229,348 discloses animal litter granules and method of processing peanut hulls in producing cat litter that is dust free. U.S. Pat. No. 5,196,473 discloses litter granules exhibiting reduced dusting that can be used as a litter.
Generally, these litters function to some extent for their intended purpose, i.e., managing litter dust while functioning as a litter. However, there is a need for new methods for reducing dust associated with the manufacture and use of animal lifters and new low-dust animal litters.